Scifi Walls from Board Game Scrap

 

I got this idea from Irrational Number Line Games, an excellent source of kitbashing ideas.

Okay, so most board games, and quite a few miniatures games, come with heavy cardstock counters we punch out and then throw away the "sprue".  Well, don't throw away that "scrap" just yet.  Here, I've cut rectangles so the holes are symmetrical with another piece.

Here I've sprayed a matched pair of sprues with silver paint left over from some Mars Attacks saucers I did recently.

The one bit of money I spent on this project was this notebook of colored plastic folders.  A whole $4.

Then I just cut out a rectangle of plastic and glue it to a "wall half" with CA.

Glue the matching wall half sandwiching the plastic, add some feet to get it to stand up, and I have really inexpensive, decent looking, modular sci-fi walls.

Christmas Scenario

 I was cleaning up some files on my laptop, and found this gem from three years ago, back when I painted some old Grenadier C'thulu detectives and gangsters.

December 23rd

The tenement of Mary and Joey Baggadonetts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Mary was decorating the corner of the tiny studio apartment she and Joey had designated, “Da Nursery”, when Joey burst through the door.

“Pack yer tings Mary, we gots ta get outta here.”

“Whatsamatta Joey, is da heat on?”

“Woise, da Iggles is playin’ da Cowboys dis weekend, an you know what dat means...”

“King Harry gots da Romos comin’ ta town!  Whadda we gonna do, Joey?”

“We’s gonna go up North”…

“Wheah up North, Joey?”

“Ta Nazareth.”

“But Joey… I can’t make dat drive!  Da baby is gonna come any second now!”

“An so’s Harry… wit’ da Romos.”

Anyway, I have no idea where to go from here.  If I somehow make this into a game, I'll probably use Larger Than Life from Two Hour Wargames.

Martians invade Pennsyltucky

Just before the COVID lockdown, I bought some Warlord US Infantry at a flea market, and painting them occupied me for a while.  I'm in Michigan, and we're still mostly locked down, so gaming at the local store isn't an option.   Not having a WWII opponent, I unpacked the Flying Frog Martians I use as 5150 Hishen and decided to solo game a monster movie type scenario.  The rules I used were 5150: Star Army 2nd Tour, from Two Hour Wargames.

 Dateline: August 10th, 1950, 

S-Mart Shopping Center, Pennsyltucky

The Pennsyltucky National Guard has been deployed to the shopping center in response to a Martian saucer landing in the parking lot.  First squad is on the left, second squad on the right, and a medium machine gun team in the center, across from Cooter Liquors.

Turn One: US wins activation and the two squads advance to the parked cars.  Two PEF (Possible Enemy Force) turn out to be "just a case of nerves".  A third PEF comes out of the liquor store and resolves as a squad of Martians.  In Sight tests were taken and the National Guardsmen opened fire.

The gunfire sent three Martians OOF (Out of the Fight) and the survivors ducked back into the store.

On the next turn, the Martians failed to activate, while the Guardsmen advanced for an assault.

On Turn 3, the Martians won Activation and opened fire on First Squad, causing several casualties.  The Guardsmen, who failed to activate, broke and ran.

Turn 4 saw the Martians activate first, so they came out of the liquor store and then they also won the In Sight test, opening fire on Second Squad.  The Guardsmen took a couple casualties and then also ran away, leaving the Martians victorious.

The Ride - Scene 2: Leaving Town

<< Scene 1: Opening Scene

Leaving Town

Lieutenant Christophe found Sergent Josué checking the privates' job of packing supplies for the journey, and asked "How soon before we're ready?"  Without looking up, Josué replied that everything would be prepared once he'd secured one last item from possibly making noise.  Stanley and Oliver, the two privates, looked on silently, their faces a mix of apprehension and determination.  After a moment, the Sergent stood to attention, saluted, and said "All is secure, Mon Lieutenant".  Christophe replied "Good, let's go" and lead his tiny unit towards the garrison exit.

The Legion at the west end and the PEFs at the east end.

Leaving the garrison and entering town proper was an unnerving experience.  Old, familiar streets now had an aspect of menace - Christophe wondered what Vichy spy or band of thugs lurked around every corner.

Turn 1 - Legion exits the garrison and the PEFs all advance.

Knowing that shepherds kept their herds of goats among the treeline north of the city overnight, Christophe reasoned that any threat would be detected by the animals.

Turn 2 - PEFs fail to activate.

Turn 3 - PEFs still don't activate, the Legion swings wide to avoid two of the PEFs.

Turn 4 - The legion gets into the woods while the PEF's dice refused to cooperate.  Turn 5 saw both sides sit immobile.

Coming to a gap in the treeline, the Legionnaires were hesitant, being unsure as to whether something lurked in the bushes ahead.  Knowing that they needed to make good time, Christophe decided that the need for rapid movement outweighed the possible danger in the bushes.

Some gaming trivia:  My dice have both a tremendous love of the dramatic, and a deep hatred of me.  Figuring that if I can get past this one PEF (please let it be nothing) the game's in the bag.  Naturally, my dice had other plans.

Crossing the open ground, noise and motion erupted from the bushes in the form of three of the Raisouli's men - mounted and charging the Legionnaires.

Turn 6 - Hoping the PEF would be "just a case of nerves", the Legion emerges from the woods and gets a nasty surprise.

As quickly as Lieutenant Christophe could give two orders, "Fire!" and "Retreat!", the Legionnaires acted in unison.  Two of the three Berber horsemen went down even as the soldiers sought shelter from the charge.  The third Berber chose to press the attack regardless, but four fixed bayonets brought him down.

The initial Test of Wills saw the active Legionnaires fire while the inactive Berbers charged.

A horseman is formidable, but not so much when facing four bayonets.

Short of breath, Christophe was relieved to find that his soldiers were all unharmed.  This relief was short lived as figures emerged from the shadows, but came back quickly when the new potential threat was merely merchants and the journey was renewed.

Turn 7 - the PEFs close in while the Legion fails to activate.  Luckily, the PEFs resolved as civillians and "just a case of nerves".

The Ride - Introduction and Opening Scene

I'm currently at my Dad's place near Ocala, Florida, and 99 percent of my gaming stuff is up in Athens, Georgia, so my gaming has been nearly non-existent.  I did bring my French Foreign Legion and Berbers with me, and found some spare time.

I've been fascinated with the USMC legend of Billy Port's Ride ever since reading Warning of War by James Brady nearly twenty years ago, so that's the inspiration for this little campaign.  USMC legend has it that back in 1941, Captain William Port was tasked with retrieving Marines scattered across much of China because the 4th Marine Regiment was pulling out of the Shanghai legation before the Japanese got there.

Due to the minis and terrain I have with me, this campaign will be the story of Lieutenant Christophe of the Legion Etrange retrieving Legionnaires scattered across French West Africa because the Berbers are being encouraged by Deutsch Afrika Corps and the Vichy French to kill or capture them.  This is entirely fictional, so real world geography, especially distance, will be gleefully ignored, as will historical troop types and strength.  This is all about the story.

Because this is a solo campaign, I'm going to use the combat system from Two Hour Wargames' Colonial Adventures 2e and the campaign system from Larger than Life 2e, because that seems to tell the story the best way.  Both games are now owned / sold by Rebel Miniatures. 

Leiutenant Christophe, Sergent Josué, a Corporel bugler and a Legionnaire, in front of an "in process" terrain project.

My starting troops:

Leiutenant Christophe, Rep 5, Logical
Sergent Josué, Rep 4, Nerves of Steel
Private Oliver, Rep 4, Unlucky
Private Stanley, Rep 4, Resilient

Opening Scene

The afternoon was hot, just like every other day in Dakar.  The sea breeze was mostly blocked by the garrison walls; tiny eddies of air stirred dust as Christophe purposefully crossed the sandy courtyard filled with Legionnaires packing gear and supplies for the sea journey north, away from Vichy territory.  Pausing briefly to ensure his uniform was correct and free of dust, he entered Colonel Donall's office.

"Leiutenant Christophe reporting as ordered Mon Colonel!"

Colonel Donall returned the Leiutenant's crisp salute while thinking to himself, "yes, Christophe is both precise and a patriot.  He's the right man for this dirty, difficult job", then he spoke aloud.

"As you know Leuitenant, the armistice with the Hun has divided France.  We of Free France are but islands in the midst of a sea of Vichy, and to survive we must consolidate ourselves for mutual support.  To that end, our purpose as officers is to bring together Legionnaires scattered across the continent, and you're the best I have at such a task.

Your mission is to gather those Legionnaires scattered across the desert and deliver a cohesive fighting force to the Free French garrison at Tangier.  Do so by speed and stealth; avoid contact as much as possible and keep careful note of enemy activities.  With a bit of luck, I'll be waiting there for your arrival.

I've instructed Sergent Josué to accompany you along with two Privates.  He's chosen Stanley and Oliver.  You need to leave tonight under the cover of darkness, avoiding Vichy observation.  Your first destination is the trade mission at Nouakchott.  From there, travel north via the caravan route to the legation at Marrakesh and then quietly seek out any Legionnaires near Fes who've avoided the Vichy and the Raisouli.  After that, report to Tangier with your force."

Scene 2 - Leaving Town >> 

Go on, Take the Honey and Run

I like 5150: New Hope City PI, but there's an aspect about 5150:NHC that leaves me wanting more.  It's an excellent system, but it assumes that there's always a witness or security camera whenever a crime's committed.  Being mischievous, I like the idea of avoiding, defeating or intimidating witnesses to get away with a crime, so I'm adapting NHCPI to a more detailed way of committing crimes instead of solving them.  Here's a blatant tribute to Mad Max as an opener...

Billy Joe, a Ganger, wanders into Dust Lump, an agricultural trading post town about 50 kilometers outside New Hope City.  The first PEF resolves as two Ordinary Joes, who I'm calling Elmer, a farmer, and Bobbie Sue, a farmer's daughter.  Being under the effect of Party Favors, Billy Joe's Talk the Talk doesn't go well, and Elmer punches him in the face.

Naturally, Billy Joe's reaction was to shoot Elmer, getting an Obviously Dead result.  I referred back to a somewhat modified version of Flock of Seagulls mechanic from Haven, Bobbie Sue's reaction to the shooting is to freeze.

Billy Joe grabs Bobbie Sue and stuffs her into Elmer's vehicle and begins running.  The other two PEFs resolve as Just a Case of Nerves.

Billy Mack, a LEO, respond and a chase begins.

Being lazy, I used the Canoe Chase mechanics from Long Rifle.  After three turns, Billy Joe loses Billy Mack, getting away for now, but possibly not forever. 

I'll be flipping between NHCPI and my criminal adaptation as Billy Mack investigates Billy Joe as he avoids arrest.

Elmer is an old RAFM Cult of Cthulu gangster, Bobbie Sue by Hasselfree Miniatures, and Billy Joe is an old Warzone Imperial Wolfbane Commando, now available at Prince August.

Fairly Cheap, Fairly Generic - Meditteranian / Caribbean Buildings

I've recently re-connected with an old friend who re-introduced me to the Colonial Period of the late 1800s - early 1900s, especially as interpreted by films such as The Wind and the Lion, Shout at the Devil, 55 Days at Peking and Lawrence of Arabia.  This has triggered some prodigious (for me) painting, and led me to inventing a (possibly) new terrain building technique using the canvas laminated hard boards so often used in Jr. High and High School art classes.  These boards worked pretty well for me because one side is not only textured, it's primed with Gesso.

I got lucky, and found these 50% off at the first store I visited.

My miniatures are 25mm Old Glory Berbers for Colonials and 28mm Freebooter's Fate used for fantasy Pirates.  The boards I found on sale are 4"X6" (103mm X 154mm) and 8"X10" (206mm X 255mm), scaling roughly to 20'X'30 and 40'X50', plenty big enough for my project.  The cardboard is about 3mm thick, translating to roughly 4 - 6 inches, also very good for my scale.

I tried this as an "easier to obtain in the US" variant of the cork sub flooring material used so often by Matakishi in his amazing buildings.  The hardboard is about almost as stiff as MDF and much easier to cut with a razor or X-Acto knife.

Here's the tools I used, plus a hot glue gun as my adhesive of choice.

 Here's the steps I took through the first paints applied.

Two 4x6 boards yielded me these four walls and the roof pieces below.

The last piece got chopped up to make the "peaked roof" portions of the side walls.

A bit of hot melt secured the four walls.

A piece of 100lb card stock scored and folded serving as the "chassis" of the tile roof.

I work part-time teaching industrial technology, and one of the classes I wrote recently is on making corrugated board and boxes, which taught me that the corrugated center is "glued" to the outer sides with vegetable starch.  Running the board under warm tap water dissolves the starch, making the process of peeling the outsides off the corrugated piece a relatively easy way to obtain the "terra cotta roof tiles" so often seen in Spanish influenced architecture.

A box flap cut by scissors with some lines spaced 15mm apart.

After soaking the board sides with warm tap water, I let it sit about 10 minutes and it was pretty easy to peel the outsides off the corrugated center.

After the paper is mostly dry, any bits of the outsides can be easily removed by lifting it with the point of a pencil and then pulling with fingers.

After peeling off one side, I cut the board along the drawn lines with scissors, then I peeled off the remaining "outside" and left the pieces to completely dry.

The separated and dried pieces aren't perfectly flat, but that doesn't matter.

After I hot melt glued the strips to the roof card stock, I trimmed the edges to my desired size.

Here, I've glued on the "upper walls" to fit the main walls.  Two pieces of scrap cardstock keep the roof aligned and a third, folded piece keeps the roof edges straight.

Here's the fully "tiled" roof sitting on the building walls before painting.

I "washed" the walls with very thinned down craft paint about the color of dark sand.  I covered the "tiles" with a dark red craft paint and hastily brushed on some orange craft paint "highlights".  

As I plan on building about five more of these in various configurations, I'll leave details such as covering visible bits of the blue board backing or gluing down "loose" roof tiles until all or most of the buildings have at least the base paints on them.